Land of the lost

It’s hard to believe, but humans have not recorded, or even seen, all the species of the world—which makes it particularly troubling that we’re shepherding in the sixth mass extinction, which may wipe out half of all species [sub. req.].

With overpopulation and development among the causes for mass extinction, where, oh where, could these unknown species be? Some places do indeed remain so remote that scientists haven’t gotten to them. Take the case of Mount Bosavi, a crater in Papua New Guinea left by a volcano that last erupted 200,000 years ago. Since then, its wildlife has been developing in isolation.

BBC naturalists and cameramen, in advance of the multi-part documentary Land of the Lost Volcano that began airing on BBC One last night (also available online), discovered dozens of new species, including a rat nearly 3-feet long, several frogs, a new marsupial, some pygmy parrots, and a fruit dove.

Sadly, Papua New Guinea is razing its forests faster than almost any other country in the world, so precious pockets of wildlife like this one may disappear before we ever see them.

The exquisite pictures are here. If the documentary is even half as good as Planet Earth, it will be a don’t-miss.